The Centre for Energy Policy (CEP) and the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC) brought together parliamentarians with representatives from CEP, UKERC, Ofgem, Scottish Power and National Energy Action (NEA) to discuss the low-carbon heat transition. The event was hosted by Angus MacNeil MP, the Chair of the Energy Security and Net Zero Select Committee.
The event drew on the latest analysis and insights from CEP’s work as part of the UK Energy Research Centre research programme through the project Delivering Sustainable and Equitable Heat Transitions. Through the discussion, a number of opportunities and challenges were raised in relation to providing UK households with sustainable and affordable heating. These included addressing the issue of how energy prices are set, the multiple benefits of deploying heat pumps, the need to give both consumers and supply chains confidence and engage and support people through the transition particularly vulnerable and low-income households.
The potential and multiple benefits of the low-carbon heat transition
There was a broad consensus across all the speakers that the transition to low-carbon heat in the UK could bring multiple economic and societal benefits. CEP’s Jamie Speirs highlighted findings from CEP’s research which show that the heat pump rollout could mitigate the negative impacts of persistently high energy prices on the economy and households, and Scottish Power’s Rob McGaughey pointed to a joint Scottish Power and WWF-UK report that argued that investing in low carbon energy solutions could mean households reduce energy bills by just under £2,000 and increase the value of their homes by around £10,000. NEA’s Adam Scorer also pointed to the positive health and social mobility benefits of addressing the dual challenges of the transition to low-carbon heat and bringing an end to fuel poverty.
Determining energy prices and ensuring we have the right workforce in place
Yet the speakers also highlighted a number of challenges that need to be addressed if sustainable and affordable heating is to be delivered to all across the UK. Ofgem’s Cathryn Scott underscored the importance of the partnerships that needed to be formed and sustained across Government, regulators, charities, researchers and consumers to ensure an effective transition to low-carbon heat, with Adam Scorer emphasising the importance of long-term action that traverses parliamentary terms and Rob McGaughey saying that it was critical to ramp up the scale and space of the transition. CEP’s Jamie Speirs spoke about the urgent requirement to address how energy prices are set, with the need to bring down the cost of electricity relative to gas. He also called for further attention to be given to ensuring a skilled workforce which could be challenging given the labour supply constraints currently being experienced by the UK and the fact that there are competing demands for labour from across multiple Net Zero and infrastructure projects.
Giving confidence to, and supporting households through the transition
All the speakers were clear that households need to be engaged and supported through the transition, and have confidence in the process. Particularly those vulnerable or low-income households who are already struggling with high energy bills, with cold homes and fuel poverty causing thousands of deaths in the UK every year. In relation to consumer confidence, UKERC’s Rob Gross argued that ongoing uncertainty and unclear messages about which low-carbon technologies to invest in was unhelpful for consumers and there was broad agreement across the panel and audience that much more needed to be done to ensure that consumers had the right information and support to make the switch to low-carbon heating in the required timeframe.
Get in touch
If you are interested in finding more about this event or CEP’s work on the low-carbon heat transition please get in touch with Hannah Corbett, hannah.corbett@strath.ac.uk